Triggering Commissioned Quests

Ji Xinghe focused her mind, and the broom on her back instantly appeared beneath her.

She swung a leg over the broom, gripping the shaft tightly with one hand as she tried to control its flight.

The next moment, Ji Xinghe and the Flying Broom lifted off together.

She wobbled upward in an unsteady ascent.

Below, Xiao Xi tilted its head in confusion, its two tender leaves on the vine leaning to the lower left.

Perched on the Flying Broom, Ji Xinghe's heart pounded wildly. She'd ridden more thrilling roller coasters and drop towers before, but none of them made her pulse race like this.

She could fly?

She could fly!

The wobbling Flying Broom gradually steadied—this flight tool was actually fairly easy to handle.

Once she'd mastered the technique, Ji Xinghe gazed down at the ruins below, a flood of emotions washing over her.

Then, she slowly descended.

Just testing it out was enough.

The Flying Broom had only three minutes of flight time left; she needed to save it for emergencies.

Back on the ground, Ji Xinghe pulled out the wooden box she'd scavenged from the ruins.

She wiped the dust off the brown lid and gently pushed it open.

Inside lay a worn notebook, a blue-purple shard, a purple coin, and a smaller wooden box.

[Found key clue to Orchard Island. Exploration +20%. Current exploration: 53%.]

The next second, the system's mechanical voice rang in her ears again.

[Player 001 has triggered a commission quest: Help Ms. Zeng successfully deliver the small wooden box to her friend "Ling."

(When the quest target appears near the player, the box will automatically glow.)]

[Quest duration: Unlimited.]

[Quest reward: Lost Star Sea Secret Realm Fragment ×1, Purple Crystal Coin ×1 (already issued).]

[Note: Due to unstable seals, the ** inside the small box emits a pulse of energy every hour, attracting dark/deformed creatures.

Solution: Craft a box from Dark Spirit Wood to reseal it. (Click to view Dark Spirit Wood route map.)]

[Does Player 001 accept the quest? Yes/No?]

Ji Xinghe furrowed her brow, speechless... The system hadn't exactly given her a chance to refuse.

She hated being forced into tasks, but since it was already done, she could only prepare for a fight.

"Every hour it emits a pulse..."

Ji Xinghe had no idea when the box had last released its energy.

She tossed a piece of Deformed Meat into the trash bin, then closed the wooden box and packed all three items into her backpack.

Next, she tugged at Xiao Xi's vines, which were still clawing at the rocks.

Looking at Xiao Xi's dust-covered tendrils, she said softly, "Stop moving things for now. Save your strength for a fight."

Xiao Xi's vines snapped upright, its voice brimming with barely concealed excitement: "Okay!"

The vines lightly brushed the dust off Ji Xinghe and itself, then crawled up to her shoulder, swaying left and right as if mimicking her vigilance, scanning the surroundings.

There was no time to inspect the items in her backpack. Ji Xinghe had to find the Dark Spirit Wood first—otherwise, monster attacks every hour would be more than she could handle.

She tapped the route map on the panel, and a red path appeared before her eyes.

She lifted her gaze, following the red line until it seemed to vanish deep into the gray mist at the northern edge of the map.

Ji Xinghe stood still, but before she could make a decision, the sounds of collapsing stone and strange roars erupted around her.

She turned her head. Below the ruins, a dense swarm of half-deformed monsters, oozing red-gray gas, crawled out from beneath the rocks.

Some were bloody claws, some were snarling heads, some were bones shrouded in bloody vapor...

The Deformed Monsters were all different, but they shared one thing: they all shoved aside the stones above them and emerged from underground.

Even if some were missing a leg or had no head, they all staggered toward Ji Xinghe like mindless corpses.

Their eyes were hollow, as if devoid of any soul, driven only by a fixed program in their brains: kill the human glowing with white light.

The Deformed Monsters surged forward relentlessly. Within seconds, the space around Ji Xinghe shrank.

The stench of earth mixed with rotting, bloody filth hit her. Ji Xinghe frowned, suppressing the urge to vomit, and pulled out the Star Feather Repeating Crossbow to fire.

She needed to carve a path.

Xiao Xi thrashed its vines wildly beside her, using its frail body to block the monsters' advance.

The Deformed Monsters swarmed into an encirclement. Ji Xinghe's arm went numb from firing, but more monsters kept crawling out of the ruins...

The red-gray gas around her grew so thick she could barely see the way ahead. Ji Xinghe quickly grabbed Xiao Xi and mounted the Flying Broom.

She steered the broom upward, firing at the deformed birds in the air while following the red route.

Now, this situation left her no room to choose.

To break the deadlock, she had to find the Dark Spirit Wood.

Ji Xinghe glanced down—dense swarms of Deformed Monsters were still pouring out.

Like a concert crowd, monsters packed against monsters, even causing several stampedes. The weaker ones, missing limbs or parts, hadn't even made a move before being trampled to death by their own kind.

Wherever Ji Xinghe flew, they followed. Thankfully, the Flying Broom was fast enough, topping out at around 250 km/h.